japanese/food court: i recommend AJISEN RAMEN

AJISEN RAMEN
A4, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi
19 Sung Kao Rd, B2
(02)2723-8691
this location closed a/o 9/2009 :(
Moved to Xinyi Eslite food court. Spotted in 4/2010

website: i couldn't find a site for Taipei= here is Ajisen.com.hk

hours: 11 am- 9 pm; fri/sat 11 am- 9:30
$

Kid friendliness: booths/chair only.

Visit reviewed: 6/12/2008 & 8/15/2008



There was nothing not to like about the ramen here- I devoured my bowl of Ramen with corn (NT$170) as well as the little side of seaweed salad with sweetened vinegar (NT$60). It was on the better side of the experiences of ramen I've had here, although mall ramen here in Taipei is probably better than lots of mall ramen in the states.



If you don't like seaweed, they also offer cold tofu, gyoza (pan fried dumplings) and some other sides.

After ordering at the counter from a picture menu, you get a number. I noticed that almost everything had the girl mascot- from their number to their seasoning on the table, to the spoon, bowl and napkins.



They offer about six different types of ramen- Ajisen Ramen, Miso Ramen, Ramen with Corn, Tenderous Ribs Ramen, Vegetarian Ramen and Curry ramen, and a handful of sides like cold tofu and gyoza (pan fried dumplings) (everything is in Chinese but with pictures).

They also offer a little row of booth seats independent from the mall food court seating, which is great when you don't feel like circling the filled seats for a spot (though I do like their food court neighbor Indian Palace).




The ramen is on the looser side, so it's not as wavy as some ramen places, but it soaks up the soup adequately so it's not bland.



Only recently, I tried the Tenderous Ribs ramen which include large braised chunks of pork (instead of the sliced cha siu in the ramen I usually get). I thought the pork was tender and well seasoned and something different than what's offered at other ramen places.



The menu is limited, so I don't know if there's more options at other locations in Taipei, but on the Ajisen Hong Kong menu there is a TON of more stuff. They have over 120 locations around the world, including in Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and US.




other location:

No. 43, Nanjing W Road
(02) 2559-8726


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japanese: KIKUGAWA

KIKUGAWA
No. 259, Chang An East Road, Sec 2
(02) 2740-3151

website: kikugawa.network.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM; 5:30 PM - 10 PM

$$- $$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs and private rooms available

Visit reviewed: 6-11-2007



It was one of those dinners where everything was a blur. Good food and good company- lots of conversation and eating, with pauses only to take pictures. Kikugawa is another one of those modernly styled Japanese restaurants with fresh sashimi and sushi and differently priced set menus served with style that are great for special occasions.

It was awhile ago and I didn't take a lot of notes, so you'll just have to enjoy the pictures. While my impression was that I liked the sashimi and nigiris, it still didn't beat Sumie at San Want Hotel off of my list of top Japanese restaurants. I also didn't pay the bill, but I think this range of dinner was over $1500/person.



The california rolls were not as great.



Lots of great seafood like the abalone salad, as well as other options like grilled whole fish.



The most memorable dish of the night was the fried durian. For those of you that have never endured the smell of durian, count yourself lucky! My mom used to buy it in the states, and even frozen it still had a stench that all of us would immediately recognize and stay away. It's a tropical fruit in a huge spiky shell and it looks like a fleshy yellow organ inside. I took a tiny bite of the fried durian (which didn't smell as strong), but could still not appreciate the flavor. My mom was happy though.



For those less adventurous, there's still options like stir fried udon, steak and tempura to keep everyone in the family happy.





And of course to end the meal, a mochi-fied dessert and some fresh lychees.




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CLOSED! western/new in town: i strongly recommend L'IDIOT

Closed spring 2013

L'IDIOT
No. 156, MinSheng E Rd, Sec 3
(02) 2545-6966

hours: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM、5:30 PM - 10:30 PM (Fri/Sat until 12 AM)

$$ - $$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available. friendly service.

Visit reviewed: 10/28/2008



I haven't figured out what to say everything I want to say yet about L'Idiot, but I wanted you to hear it from me first. A great new addition to the ever-growing scene of restaurants in Taipei, L'Idiot has a varied and seasonal menu offering salads, grilled meats, seafood, pasta, risotto and desserts. (Or as they put it with a sense of dry humor, Aquatics or "Cows and baby sheep")



Everything tastes fresh and they have some original offerings (pumpkin and crab risotto, fig brownie) that will become fast favorites, like the arugula & candied lemon salad (light, tangy and sweet) and vodka seafood fettucine.




Their other salads were also great- one with beets and goat cheese, the other a green salad with fresh figs, but I loved the sweet and tart flavor of the lemon and arugula combined.



I was too busy eating to take a picture of their cool interior sculptures that are covered in mosiac, but the airy, bright space is totally different from the previous tenant, the dark woody Tony Roma's. Also, there isn't a lot of signage, so it's definitely easy to miss, with their front entrance to the side of the street. Just look for the restaurant across from the huge McDonald's and Ruth Chris.

Once you're seated, some warm olive bread comes to the table with butter. We also got some complimentary appetizers that had ricotta cheese on toasted baguette. I don't care for ricotta cheese, so I preferred the bread.




Their lunch menu set offers an affordable option to try something you normally wouldn't, like salad with headcheese. What's headcheese? I didn't know either until it came to our table, and after googling it, I'm kind of glad I only took a tiny bite.



All the lunch sets looked appetizing (Reuben sandwich, Capellini with clams and pesto for NT$390 includes salad and dessert or Pan Seared Seabass with Balsamic Reduction or Pumpkin Risotto with Crab Meat for NT$590 includes salad, soup and dessert).




I ended up getting the seabass, but I was drooling over the Reuben sandwiches I spotted at a lot of the other tables. The pumpkin risotto my friend ordered had bits of pumpkin in it and I preferred the smoother uni risotto instead. We had a group of 9 and everyone was willing to share family style, so I got to taste a lot.

A friend who had been raving about the restaurant for awhile said the grilled duck breast was a must and I agree. Succulent and perfectly seasoned, the dish just confirmed how much I love eating duck- whether it's roasted until the skin is crispy and carved to be wrapped in thin pancakes or grilled and served with balsamic reduction.



The duck breast was served medium to medium rare, which some of the diners at the table would have liked a little more well done. So if you prefer your duck less rare, you should let the kitchen know in advance.

I really enjoyed the fig brownie as well, which had bits of fresh fig inside. The textures made it interesting, but it worked a lot better than the fig cupcake I had at VVG Bon Bon. My friends also tried to order Boston Cream Pie they loved from their previous visits, but it wasn't available that day.



If you're looking for something more filling or maybe you're just missing Tony Roma's, you could order the baby back ribs. While the sauce isn't the same as their barbeque sauce and it doesn't fall off the bone quite the same way, it's not half bad.



I've also heard their brunch is quite good with offerings like crab cake benedict and blueberry pancakes, so I'm eager to make my reservation for that soon.



Whether you are a fan of pasta, grilled meats or light salads, you'll probably find yourself at L'Idiot and wanting to be the first to introduce it to your circle of friends.

Just don't forget who shared it with you first!

Does it look good? Let me know. Been here already already? What was your favorite?


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american/mexican: JAKE's COUNTRY KITCHEN

JAKE's COUNTRY KITCHEN
705 Chungshan North Road, Section 6
(02) 2871-5289

Hours: Kitchen: 6:30am to midnight
Bar: 6pm to 2am

website: jakes.network.com.tw Chinese only, though online menu has English.

$-$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available, lots of kid options

Visit reviewed: 2/17/2008



I visited Jake's Country Kitchen all the way back in February with high hopes for good Mexican food. While I admire how Jake's has been around town for such a long time and I could see how it was a destination when there were few Western restaurants in town, I was a bit disappointed. Maybe it's because I'd heard about it for so long and it's so far away from where I live that I held it to a higher standard.

Jake's does have a large variety of offerings on their English and Chinese menu- all day breakfast omelettes, pancakes with sides like corn beef hash; burgers, pasta, pizza, fried chicken, dinner plates like turkey with mashed potatoes; Mexican offerings like chicken mole, burritos, enchiladas, chimichangas and flautas, and slices of pies and whole pies to go. Their servers crowded behind the counter and in the kitchen and would pop over occasionally to give us food. The songs from the 80s and 90s playing also gives the place a whole throwback feeling that you could imagine it being around for almost 30 years.



The nachos were just chips with melted cheese (not enough of it) and the guacamole/salsa wasn't fresh and piled on like I'd hoped. It looked and tasted like when I tried to melt jack cheese on some Tostitos at home in the microwave.



The burger (NT$115) was ala carte, but it was a pretty decent burger- served super hot, good size proportion to the bun, fresh fat slice of tomato and lettuce.



The open faced turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy (NT$250) was better than I thought it would be. It was hearty and filling and the gravy is more like country gravy than brown gravy. It could be a great alternative to a fancy turkey dinner around Thanksgiving if you don't want to slave in the kitchen. Or anytime you just felt like some serotonin from the turkey.



I got a Chimilada which was a Chimichanga Enchilada combo plate (NT$300). The enchilada fared better than the nachos with its cheese quota, but there wasn't enough sauce. The whole point of ordering an enchilada rather than a burrito or chimichanga is that it's soaked in the sauce and the corn tortilla soaks it all up. At Jake's (like many Taiwan eateries), you could barely tell which is the enchilada and which is the chimichanga (NT$160-280 ala carte).



I could have also done without all the sauce on top of the food and rather had it scooped on the side. The refried beans were also rock hard and I didn't bother with trying to eat it. The problem with eating Taiwan-ified Mexican food is that it just makes you long for the real thing even more.



The milkshake again was okay, and it was smaller than expected for the price.



I was so excited to see Lemon Meringue pie on the menu, but it turned out they were out that day. So instead we opted for Strawberry Cheesecake. I love cheesecake. But this was weird cheesecake. It had little fiberous textures inside the cheesecake that was not strawberry-like. It was very off-putting and made me not want to finish it.



The dessert menu itself does offer a huge array of pies, but they only had a few cheesecakes to offer that night. So you'd have to call in ahead to check if they had what you wanted, or order ahead if you wanted to take it home.

I'm curious to know if their breakfast/brunch menu is better, although with options like The Diner now closer to me, I don't know if I'll make the trip to find out.

Maybe for the pie.... Anyone been to Jake's Country Kitchen?


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bakery/new in town: i recommend PAUL

PAUL
No. 107, Ren Ai Rd, Sec. 4
(02)2771-3200

website: paultaiwan.com (doesn't seem to be working yet)

hours: 7:30AM- 10PM

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs, but some booth-ish seating

Visit reviewed: 10/7/2008

It seems like a lot can change in seven weeks. When I came back from LA in October after being gone since late August, there were new restaurants spotted everywhere. Even Eslite bookstore on Dun Hua had gone through a renovation.

That's a lot of eating to catch up on.

Some I had heard about from friends raving on Facebook, like the nicer French/Western restaurant L'Idiot (to be reviewed) on Min Sheng East Road where Tony Roma's used to be. Some maybe I just hadn't spotted before, like Lugar Home Bread Bar (to be reviewed) behind the new NY Pizza Kitchen behind the old NY Bagel (on Renai). Some were picked to meet for lunch by a friend from out of town, like the new Dun Hua branch of California Grill(to be reviewed).

And some were unmistakeably new- like the bright white capital letters on a black sign for PAUL, next to Swensen's on Ren Ai Circle where Miss Sixty's used to be.



At first glance, it's definitely different than most of the Japanese/Chinese bakeries in town, maybe an Au Bon Pain on steroids and a pretty dress. A lot of the breads here on the sweeter side, cushy and soft, or covered in pork floss. But Paul has dough delivered from France and is a popular French chain that has branches in Shanghai and Japan. Maybe that's why there's an overflowing line at lunch, where the wait can be 10-30 minutes long.

There's an attractive array of breads, baguettes and pastries that can be spotted from the window and waiters in white coats running around delivering orders. The space is not huge, but they pack in a lot of seating in the modern, classic with various antique looking chairs, tables and seating areas at dark wood tables without making it feel too crowded. The franchise details are covered, including the black and white checkered floors, baby chandeliers and windows dressed with curtains.



My first trip to Paul was for breakfast- we just walked in, sat down and ordered from the menu (where there's 4 choices of brunch type meals from NT$235-$285 which gets you various combos of breads or 1/2 sandwich, egg, fresh fruit, yogurt, salad, tea/coffee. My friend got the Rive Gauche(NT$265) which was a 1/2 Ham and Cheese Sandwich, small salad, hard boiled egg and coffee.



I thought I'd get more value by choosing ala carte from the bakery- so I got a mini chocolate pastry, an olive bread and apple tart. I'd probably only get the apple tart again.



That same day, I was in the area with a couple of girlfriends for lunch and couldn't decide on where to eat, so I asked them if they had eaten at Paul. They wanted to try it out so back I went. This time, I was surprised to discover a line of people waiting. We didn't want to wait 30 minutes, so we just got our food to go. They have a to-go set that includes a sandwich and choice of soup/drink for NT$265.

The sandwiches were good. The tuna sandwich had sliced tomatoes and wasn't overloaded with mayo, and the swiss in the ham and cheese stood out. The bread was also really good- crusty and soft at the same time. They also have smoked salmon sandwiches and proscuitto sandwiches. The chef salad was ok.



The mushroom soup wasn't too creamy and I could see the various diced mushrooms as I slurped it down.



But we were most excited about the desserts.

I remember when I first saw a PAUL was in Shanghai near XinTianDi and drooled over their selection of pastries and bought a few in a box to-go for a friend. I remember the first time I ever had a fancy fruit tart at a fancy cafe- which was my freshman year at Cal at the San Francisco shopping center. It seemed so decadent to be paying US$2-3 just for a little fruit tart with some glossed sugar on it. But I savored every bite.

Eating the raspberry tart (NT$155) and napoleon reminded me of that. It was gone too soon.



Flaky, sweet and not really big enough to share between three dessert loving girls, so it was gone in minutes. They also have chocolate and strawberry napoleons, as well as different flavored tarts and macarons.



Whatever way you plate it, PAUL is not cheap. They even have a loaf of bread that is NT$600. It feels like I'm back in Europe, wondering how everything seems so expensive. Is it worth it? Maybe for the occasional splurge on the French pastries that you won't likely find elsewhere, unless you stop by Maison Kayser.

Yesterday, I was in a hurry and thought I'd grab a tuna sandwich to go. But they seemed to have shrunk by a third, but remained the same price. Even asking the girl behind the counter didn't really help. She said they had always been that size, but I have photographic evidence otherwise. I was a bit annoyed that the sandwiches before were maybe 10 inches long, but the ones I spotted yesterday looked to be 6-7 inches long for NT$185 or so. I couldn't bear to pay that much for just a tuna sandwich so ended up getting curry noodles from the Eslite food court.

So if you're craving some sweets and can afford it, check out Paul. Otherwise, just look through the window and drool.


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